


the aftermath

by rileyhart



Series: after the dome [2]
Category: Under The Dome (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, julia centric, teh first few weeks outside of the dome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 22:11:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15872715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rileyhart/pseuds/rileyhart
Summary: a julia centric exploring her thoughts and feelings in the first few weeks after the dome.





	the aftermath

 

It’s strange at first, being outside of the Dome; living with Barbie in Zenith.

The first morning when Julia wakes up next to him in his apartment she doesn’t quite believe it. She sits up and looks out the window, which looks out over the city; that obelisk in the distance.

She stares out for a moment, her breath caught in her throat. The world goes for miles, not stopping anywhere. She could walk out of this apartment and keep walking forever, nothing stopping her.

She was only in that Dome for a month but it felt like a lifetime. It’s strange to think that a month ago she was married to Peter, living in Chester’s Mill, and working as a small town newspaper editor; that she didn’t know who Barbie was, or Norrie; that Angie, Joe, and Junior were just kids in the town she’d never paid much attention too, and Jim was just a man she didn’t like very much. 

That the idea of an alien invasion seemed so farfetched.

Barbie murmurs beside her and she turns to look down at him, smiling.

He smiles back up at her and pulls her down for a kiss.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” he whispers.

“Neither, it feels like a dream.” 

* * *

Norrie stays with them for the first few weeks. Barbie only has one bed, so he makes her up one on the couch. Somedays she is mopey, lying on the couch doing nothing, other days she is all action, insisting Joe is still alive and that they have to go find him.

Julia tries to imagine what she is going through. Losing the three most important people to you in the space of three weeks is not something easily gotten over, especially at her age.

A week into staying in Barbie’s apartment, family from LA get in touch with her, asking her to come and stay with them.

Norrie promptly refuses. “I can never go back there, Julia,” she says to her, almost hysterical.

“They’re your family.” 

Norrie shakes her head vehemently. “I can’t go back to Los Angeles. I can’t go back to that life. I can’t face them all and be some fucking charity case.”

Julia nods, placing an arm around Norrie. “I get it. You can stay with us as long as you want.”

Another week later Norrie’s aunt announces that if they won’t send Norrie back to LA they’ll be suing Julia and Barbie.

“They’re suing us?!” Barbie exclaims in disbelief.

“Apparently we have no right to keep Norrie with us, since Alice and Carolyn designated her as Norrie’s guardian.” Julia explains.

“Did you tell her that Norrie is seventeen and can make her own damn mind up?”

“In not so many words, yes.” 

Barbie sits down and puts his head in his hands. “We can’t keep playing ‘Mom and Dad’. Maybe we should just send her to LA. They are her family.”

“Have you ever tried making Norrie do something she doesn’t want to?”

This almost makes Barbie laugh. “So what do we do?” He asks her.

Julia sighs. “We talk to Norrie.”

Surprisingly Norrie says yes. Julia’s not sure if she’s pleased or not with this answer. She loves Norrie and the idea of her leaving for the other side of the country isn’t something Julia leaps for joy (even if it means avoiding a lawsuit).

“Oh, okay,” is Julia’s response.

“Anyway, I’ve worked it out.” Norrie says matter of factly.

“Worked what out?” Julia asks her, sharing a confused glanced with Barbie.

“How to find Joe. I’m going to enlist.”

This takes Julia and Barbie by surprise.

“You’re going to enlist?” Julia says disbelievingly.

“Yes, enlist,” Norrie replies, nodding as if Julia is stupid.

“In the army?” Barbie asks, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, that’s usually what people mean by enlist.”

“Norrie, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Barbie tells her.

“Too bad, I’m going to be eighteen in a couple of weeks. You’re not my mom and dad. You can’t stop me.”

Julia and Barbie exchange glances.

“I can’t go back to school after all this. I can’t go back to that world of bitchiness and boys and shallowness. But I want to do something. I watched both my moms die. I watched Joe die to save all of us. I shot and killed two people. I want to join the army. To find Joe, and because it’s the only place I can really use what I learnt in the Dome.”

Both Julia and Barbie are left speechless by this.

It is Barbie who speaks first. “Okay, I think that makes sense.”

Julia breathes in, hardly believing what she is about to say. “If that’s what you want to do.”

Norrie nods firmly. “It is.”

Arrangements are made for Norrie to go back to LA the following week. Her eighteenth birthday is only another two weeks after that.

* * *

There’s a lot of press in those first few weeks. Hounding them for interviews, information, anything. Julia, Barbie, and Norrie mostly refuse, only agreeing to do a short insight interview for CNN — which they are encouraged to do by the military in order to get the fake story out there.

They became accustomed to seeing Big Jim on TV, talking about the death of his son and the sacrifices he made for the town of Chester’s Mill.

“Ugh what an arsehole,” Norrie comments as they watch Big Jim tell the interviewer about working with Julia, Barbie, and Norrie to survive and save the town. “He acts like he was on our side the entire time when he reality he was trying to kill us most of the time.” She turns off the TV with the remote. “He was only on our side because it suited him anyway.”

* * *

It’s Julia’s idea for them to meet up with the McCalister’s before Norrie leaves.

She brings it up with Barbie who is uncertain.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Julia. We can hardly tell them the truth of what happened.”

“I think it would be good for Norrie to meet them.” She insists.

“She’s just going to want to tell them the truth, and we can’t do that. She’ll want to tell them that Joe sacrificed himself to bring down the Dome, and that he’s still alive.”

“She won’t, I’ll make sure of it. They deserve to know about Joe and Angie at least.”

Julia still has Greg McCalister’s email from when there was a story on commuters in the Independant. She emails him and agree to meet two days before Norrie leaves.

They meet at a town halfway between Zenith and West Lake (where the McCalisters’ are now residing).

Julia does most of the talking, Barbie and Norrie remaining mostly silent. Julia tells them about how Barbie saved Joe’s life on the first day, how Joe had worked to bring the Dome down from the get go, how Angie had looked after her when she’d been shot, and how brave and what good friends they’d both been.

“How did they die?” Jen McCalister asks, and Barbie shoots Julia a warning glance.

It’s Norrie who speaks first. “Joe died saving my life.” She tells them. “He died to bring down the Dome.”

Julia nods. “He saved us all.”

“How?” Jen presses.

Julia shakes her head. “I’m really sorry but we can’t say anymore than that.”

“And Angie?” Greg asks.

Julia gulps. “Angie was murdered.”

Jen lets out a whimper.

“Why would somebody murder her?” Greg asks confused.

“The Dome sent some people insane, we can’t understand it.”

“Who?” Greg asks heatedly. “It had to be someone from Chester’s Mill.”

Julia hesitates for a moment. “We don’t know,” she finally says. “But they’re dead now. They’re all dead.”

* * *

Saying goodbye to Norrie at the airport is hard. Julia hugs her, and neither want to let go.

“I’m going to miss you,” Julia whispers to her.

Norrie doesn’t reply straight away, scared that if she does she’ll burst into tears. “Thank you for everything, Julia,” she finally murmurs back to her, and Julia hugs her even tighter.

“If you ever need anything,” Julia tells her as they let go.

Norrie nods. “I know, thank you.”

She hugs Barbie and he presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Be careful, okay?” He tells her, letting go. “And keep in touch with us.”

“I will,” she replies quietly.

Julia hugs her one last time. “I love you,” she tells her.

“I love you too,” Norrie whispers back.

They watch her go through her gate to board, and Barbie wraps an arm around Julia. “You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s strange though, all these people that we fought for, survived with, and now they’re just… gone, and we’re just supposed to go on with our lives.”

He squeezes her comfortingly. “I’m still here.”

She nudges him playfully in the ribs. “Yeah, I know,” she says smiling, and they turn and leave the airport together.

* * *

They leave Zenith the next day on Barbie’s motorbike, not planning on stopping till they need fuel, and not planning on coming back — for a longtime at least.

Julia watches the world rush by her as her arms are wrapped tightly around Barbie and her head rests against his back. 

They pass houses and schools and shops. They pass thousands of people all going about their day. They pass through many towns, and Julia thinks of Chester’s Mill, a ghost town under quarantine, nobody living in it.

She tightens her grip around Barbie ever so slightly, incredibly grateful to be where she is right now.


End file.
